The deal President Trump engineered forcing the sale of TikTok from Chinese government-owned ByteDance to American companies represents a rare opportunity to tackle the problem of online hate and antisemitism, Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO Eric D. Fingerhut said Tuesday.

 

“When it comes to spreading hate and antisemitism online, TikTok has been the largest and worst offender, which is why the deal engineered by President Trump presents us with a moment of great hope,” Fingerhut said.

 

“At the same time, the work ahead for the new American owners is complicated and challenging, making this a critical moment for our community to redouble our efforts and ensure that the change we all seek in fact comes about,” he added.

 

Fingerhut’s remarks come as the U.S. and China are expected to sign a deal transferring ownership of TikTok to an American company, highlighting the urgency of combatting the platform’s proliferation of antisemitic and hateful content.

 

He spoke at a United for Security event at Jewish Federations of North America’s flagship public affairs office in downtown Washington, DC, that brought together experts in the fields of cybersecurity, antisemitism, and online extremism to discuss the implications of this deal, both for Jews around the world and the younger generation.  

 

Daniel Kelley, Director of Strategy and Operations, Center for Technology and Society, at ADL, pointed out the erosion of trust and safety guidelines on other social media platforms, saying: “To counteract what we’re seeing from the other companies, I hope an outcome here would be to see an even huger investment in trust and safety, and especially in expertise."

 

The panel focused on how TikTok’s algorithm has fueled the rising tide of antisemitism, especially over the past two years, as well as best practices for combatting digital hate. It also highlighted Jewish Federations’ previous support for a deal that would transfer ownership of TikTok to a United States entity.

 

Sarah O’Quinn, U.S. Director for Public Affairs at the Center for Countering Digital Hate, expressed concerns about the incentivization of antisemitism on TikTok, especially as it pertains to the younger generation: “The biggest concern with TikTok versus the other platforms is TikTok really is a young person’s platform, and that is where you’re seeing the most likely group to be falling for, or believing, antisemitic tropes.”

 

Yair Rosenberg, Staff Writer for The Atlantic, added that, “If you just trade in one set of opaque overlords for other sets of opaque overlords who will make different sets of decisions, that doesn’t sow trust in society, that doesn’t help us better understand or navigate these difficult questions. It just changes who’s in charge.”

 

Last year, Jewish Federations strongly advocated for legislation that would force the sale of TikTok from China to stop the spread of antisemitism and to protect American citizens’ personal data, most notably through a letter to members of Congress. More recently, we urged President Trump and the new American owners of the company to take concrete steps to address antisemitism on TikTok.

 

The full presentation is here.